Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal (right) and his deputy Manish Pandey during a training session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
DH Photo/ BK Janardhan
Bengaluru: After two points from as many matches, Karnataka managed to infuse some life into their Ranji Trophy campaign following an eight-wicket win over Bihar in their previous Group C clash in Patna.
Like the first two matches, the third encounter also appeared to meet a watery grave before elements relented a bit and Karnataka showed the right intent to pull off their first win against probably the weakest team in the group. Placed third behind Haryana and Kerala with eight points, same as that of Kerala but sitting a spot below because of an inferior run quotient, Karnataka need to get the better of Bengal in a contest, starting Wednesday here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Bengal are in an even worse position, again thanks to inclement weather. They took the first innings lead against Uttar Pradesh while their second match against Bihar was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Their third match remained incomplete which meant the Eastern side has just five points from three matches. The visitors will be equally desperate to make the most of this clash as there are no easy matches in the group going forward.
Going into the contest, both teams are hampered by similar issues -- key missing players. While Bengal will be without the services of their prolific batter Abhimanyu Eswaran and pacer Mukesh Kumar who are on India A duty in Australia, Karnataka will miss the presence of V Vyshak who is part of India's T20I squad to South Africa. Already without their pace spearhead Vidwath Kaverappa, Karnataka's pace attack now wears a heavy cloak of inexperience. Vyshak's absence means left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty will get his Ranji debut and he will likely form a three-pronged pace combo with V Koushik and Vidhyadhar Patil.
"Abhilash Shetty has been on our radar for some time and he brings in the left-arm pace option," said coach Yere Goud when asked about missing pacers. "Koushik has been playing the holding role well and Vidhyadhar performed well during the Thimmappiah Trophy. We also have Yashovardhan Parantap in the squad, who is a good pace bowling-all-rounder."
It's precisely because of lack of experience in the pace attack that senior leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal's performance becomes crucial. The 31-year-old justified his recall from Kerala with an eight-wicket match haul against Bihar, but he will have to repeat it against a superior batting line-up in Bengal. Debutant off-spinner Mohsin Khan showed promise against Bihar and he will probably retain his place in the XI.
In batting, skipper Mayank Agarwal struck form with a timely ton against Bihar as did his deputy Manish Pandey with a purposeful 56. Nikin Jose has been decent at the top of the order, while the inclusion of Abhinav Manohar served their cause well in Patna. Karnataka would do well to persist with him for the hard-hitting batter adds an exciting dynamic to their batting line-up.
Highlights - Other Group C fixtures Bihar vs Madhya Pradesh (Patna), Haryana vs Punjab (Rohtak), Kerala vs UP (Thumba).